Soldiers North and South

The Everyday Experiences of the Men Who Fought America's Civil War

Paul A. Cimbala

Publication Year: 2010

The American Civil War was an extraordinary event. It was a military, political, social, and constitutional milestone that shaped the nation's understanding of unity and freedom, if imperfectly, into the next century. No American war was so essential to defining what America was and should become. By exploring how and why Northern and Southern men rallied to their flags, trained to be soldiers, lived in camp, marched to the fight, endured combat, and dealt with the aftermath of battle, we can appreciate how such a grand drama of national scope touched the lives of individuals, especially when we pay attention to what those participants had to say about their experiences. Despite the hardships of camp life and the horror of battle, most of these men stayed on in the ranks to do a difficult job. They were not always eager combatants, but the most heroic of them swallowed hard, offered a prayer, overcame their fear, and charged into the enemy's guns. Importantly, their stories did not end with the final surrender of Confederate forces. The soldiers could not shake off their wartime experiences with the conclusion of combat. Thus, we also need to pay attention to their transition to peace and how they created the memories that they nurtured into their old age. Soldiers North and South is an attempt to understand why the men in the United States and Confederate armies made the sacrifices that theydid and how fighting the war shaped their lives even as a reunited America tried to come to grips with itsconsequences.

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

Contents

Preface

The American Civil War was an extraordinary event. It was a military, political, social,
and constitutional milestone that shaped that nation’s understanding of unity and
freedom, if imperfectly, into the present century. No American war—not the Revolutionary
War, not the Great War...

Timeline

1. A Bloody Citizen's War

At the outset of America’s Civil War, necessity and tradition prompted both Northern
and Southern governments to rely on local initiative to raise the troops they needed. The
United States had a regular army, which the federal government kept whole throughout
the war. However...

2. Filling the Ranks

Martial enthusiasm spread through the Upper South in the wake of the surrender of Fort
Sumter and Lincoln’s call to put down the rebellion. Meetings, rallies, and calls to arms
brought out the men in numbers that would certainly dampen the confidence of Yankee
aggressors. Those men...

3. The Men in the Ranks

By the end of the war, perhaps 2.1 million men served in the armies of the United States
for varying amounts of time, while upward toward 900,000 men had served in the Confederate
forces. For the most part, these men were representative of the general demographics
of their regions...

4. Going Off to War

In 1861, recruits did not expect to be away from home for long when they joined their
companies, but they still prepared in some way to enter into their new way of life.
Husbands bade farewell to wives and children, giving them instructions for conducting
home life and business while...

5. Daily Camp Life

As time passed and the war did not end as quickly as expected , the routines of camp
life came to dominate much of the soldiers’ existence. Union and Confederate soldiers
trained at camps closer to the front before they tasted combat and then returned to encampments
after...

6. Approaching Battle

Lieutenant Thomas Galway of the Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry found all of the correspondence
sent by soldiers to hometown newspapers that touted their eagerness to
engage the enemy to be hogwash. Those “blatant asses in the ranks,” along with the usual
journalistic crowd...

7. Engaging the Enemy

Often pickets, the trip wire of a defending army, made first contact with an advancing
enemy, while attackers often sent out a forward guard. Skirmishers also preceded
advancing columns perhaps a half to three-quarters of a mile to the front to “ ‘feel’ the
enemy,” not knowing...

8. The Aftermath of Battle

Soldiers who had survived battle unscathed could not spend too much time dwelling on
their good luck in the immediate aftermath of the fight. Hungry, thirsty, and tired , they
had to answer to their basic needs. They also had to deal with the consequences of their
work, which meant coping with...

9. The Transition to Peace

Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House sent waves of delirium through the ranks
of the Army of the Potomac. Charles Mattocks had rejoined the army after being exchanged
as a prisoner of war shortly before Lee’s surrender, but he now made clear
that he did not regret...

Epilogue: Veterans' Connections With Their Past

Almost from the surrender of Confederate forces, veterans talked , argued , and wrote
about the events of the war even as they set their sights on new endeavors. Southern
veterans in particular were quick to defend their honor when challenged by insensitive...

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